In The End
by Layton H.D Kedd
Summary: The Man of Iron, Loki intends to find out if this man is truly as formidable as they say and whether his arc reactor could have any benefit to his plan. Set a year before then through the Avengers. Tony/Loki eventually.
1. Chapter 1

Tony knew this party would be a snore fest. These business parties always were. He couldn't even liven up the evening with a few drinks, something about repairing PR since his last drunken escapade. It didn't help that the guests droned on and on about the spikes and drops of Stark Industries' stocks. As if nothing of any actual interest mattered, like the creation of a new element by yours truly. He guessed that Badassium didn't exactly resonate with this class of people. Unfortunate really. At least a few discussed the Iron Man suit, although it eventually revolved back to how it would affect the stocks. Honestly he just needed one drink to get through this evening, maybe two if this woman wouldn't shut up about her new gem necklace.

To avoid the temptation he simply left the woman by herself, opting to get some fresh air on the balcony. Thankfully no one else craved a view of the New York skyline, giving Tony a much-needed break from company. The neon lights of the city battled against one another, trying to be bigger and better than all the rest. Soon his name would be glittering high in the sky too, outshining them all. He smirked. Right over there, by Grand Central Station, would stand Stark Tower, a pinnacle in energy efficiency. His name up in lights certainly wouldn't just be limited to New York City, but it was a good start. It would definitely bring a brighter connotation to his name, although the Iron Man suit was doing a fantastic job at that as well. But Pepper insisted that Stark Industries try to expand the arc reactor's potential beyond just crime-fighting.

What a sordid and utterly pathetic gathering. Every man and woman in the room desperately sought control over one another, yet hopelessly failing with every attempt. How Loki longed to put these sniveling mortals back to their place. But it would come in time, his army still required the Tesseract in order to arrive. The mortal doctor had yet to unlock the secrets to control the Tesseract's power properly. Until that time, Loki only had the whispers around S.H.I.E.L.D to occupy himself with. It amused him how they thought themselves protected by such meager weapons. Even the more adept of their race presented no sustainable threat to his army, though it would be best to learn their weaknesses now to exploit them when the war began.

Loki surveyed the crowd, hardly registering one face from the other. Only one person interested him tonight, the only reason he would allow himself to mingle amongst lower beings. Tony Stark. The Iron Man. His name was mentioned often within the compounds of S.H.I.E.L.D, normally followed by a scoff and a variety of insults. Entirely meaningless, however what perked his interest involved the hunk of metal in his chest. This 'arc reactor', newly modified with an unknown element that seemed to produce an endless abundance of energy. It reeked of potential, though Loki heard nothing particularly specific from S.H.I.E.L.D. He would have to investigate firsthand in order to properly judge this source of 'self-sustaining energy'.

He weaved through the crowds, ignoring the comments a few of the female guests made in a pointless attempt to gain his attention. He spotted his target as Tony walked away from a particularly garish individual and out onto the empty balcony. Loki smirked, the perfect opportunity presented so easily in front of him. He grabbed two scotches from an attendant intended for a group of men in the corner of the room. Just the vice this man of iron was known for. He strutted towards the balcony; conversations already playing out in his head

A clink beside Tony brought him back from the jumble of equations and diagrams that occupied his thoughts. By his elbow sat a glass of scotch, dry.

"I thought you might be needing a distraction," a low voice spoke to Tony's side. By him stood a rather tall man in a black suit with an odd yellow and green scarf. He held a similar scotch in his right hand.

"Thanks, but I learned not to take drinks from strangers. It generally ends badly," Tony pushed the glass towards the tall man, trying to recall if he had seen him anywhere else before. Nothing popped into mind though.

"I can assure you I only have the best intentions in mind," Loki took a sip from his own scotch. "It appeared that you could use something to ease this dull affair."

"And how did you deduced that?" Tony turned and stood a little straighter, trying to close the half a foot difference between their eyes. Loki smirked and gestured back to the party.

"Oh it is quite obvious to anyone with any sort of intelligence that you despised talking with any of the patrons. You hardly stayed with an individual longer than a minute or two."

"And what about you? You think you could hold my attention longer?" He raised an eyebrow. This man, whoever he was,

"Perhaps. Of course it would be easier if you had taken my gift, " Loki tapped the rim of the glass sitting the ledge.

"As tempting as a good scotch is, I'll have to pass on that."

"A pity. I will have to retain your attention some other way then." So alcohol wasn't a strong enough vice after all. He would need to be broken down in some other fashion.

"A name could help with that." Perhaps he would have heard of this man from one of the few papers he's read, or from the odd business conversation that he listened to.

"Shouldn't the mystery be interesting enough?"

"Not really. Besides, I was never drawn to the whole mysterious man type-"

"Tony! Tony! There you are." Tony and Loki both turned towards the woman standing in the doorway.

"Ah, Pepper! I was wondering when you would show up," Tony smiled.

"What are you doing out here? You are supposed to be acting like you have an interest in your company's success in there."

"I was simply getting some fresh air with my friend over here," Tony gestured towards Loki. "Who, by the way, I never did get your name."

"Loki, Mr. Stark." Loki smiled

"Huh, that's an odd name. I would have thought you with a more British name."

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Stark has business elsewhere," Pepper grabbed ahold of Tony's arm, dragging him back towards the party. Tony looked over his shoulder.

"Guess you couldn't hold my attention long enough huh, Loki," Tony smirked before turning his attention back to Pepper. Loki squeezed the glass, cracking it in a multitude of places. This interaction had amounted to utter waste. He would need a different tactic to get the information he wanted.


	2. Chapter 2

Unfortunately for Loki, Tony lost interest in him rather quickly, within the first minute in fact. Tony had forgotten his odd foreign name as soon as a pretty blonde batted her long eyelashes at him. Needless to say his meeting with Loki disappeared from his memory in the haze of a rather mundane love affair. What's-her-name faded just as easily. These meetings remained pointless ego boosts to Tony, easily and often replaced week after week. A week passed by and construction on Stark Tower had commenced. Tony helped with the foundation, insisting to move the heavier materials in his Iron Man suit. He hardly had the chance to use the Mark Five since the Stark Expo, mainly using it for joy rides around the city. Perhaps an upgrade could revive the spark. At least it would give him something to do. Well, something interesting to do.

Tony unrolled the electric blueprints, one of the foremen coming over by his side. His fingers touched the screen and a 3D model of the tower rose up, however only the first twenty floors popped up. The other floors glowed a red that blocked any of the details. The foreman tilted his head, his brow furrowed.

"Where are the rest of the plans?"

"Those are for my eyes only."

"I can't do construction if I haven't seen the blueprints," the foreman crossed his arms across his chest.

"No, I think you can. See, I'll tell you what to bring and then I'll tell you where to put it, then I'll construct it. No need for you to see what any of it will do."

"You can't construct ten floors by yourself."

"Not by myself, of course. But mostly me," Tony gestured to himself, before twirling the model around, the upper levels disappearing all together as they flew downwards.

"You don't have the time even attempt that Tony," Pepper walked towards the table, straightening some papers in her hands.

"Ah, Pepper! Impeccable timing as usual," Tony looked up at Pepper, waving his index and middle finger quickly before continuing to move floors around on the model. Pepper held out her hand to the foreman, placing the papers underneath her arm. He reached out and shook it.

"I'm sorry about him, he likes to get in over his head," she maneuvered over by Tony's side. "And you have a corporation to run, which means not building floors by yourself."

"Can't I make you CEO again?" Tony sighed.

"No, now let him do his job while you do yours," Pepper gestured her head to the foreman.

"Fine," Tony passed the holographic blueprints over to him. Tony sauntered away from the table, pulling out his phone.

"Good," Pepper followed after him. "Now tonight you are going to meet with several executives at Le Reve-"

"Not another one, didn't I go to one yesterday?"

"Last week, and this isn't a party, this is a dinner meeting."

"That's even worse," Tony whined, scratching at the back of his next. "Can't these meetings happen somewhere interesting, like a rave club or something."

"That's never going to happen," Pepper laughed a little.

"Well-"

"No, you can't host business in a rave," Pepper rolled her eyes.

"You always say no."

"That's what you pay me for."

Progress moved too slowly. The mortals made no breakthroughs with the Tesseract despite Loki's whispered proposals. They spent far too long bickering over minute details, pointless squabbles resulting from mistrust between the leader Nick Fury and the figures on the screen. If only he could take control now, progress would be achieved without struggle. But Loki had come to far to try and seize power without proper planning or forces. The Chitauri required the full understanding of the Tesseract and its powers before they could arrive to begin the war.

Loki preoccupied himself with the task of learning more of the Man of Iron. He appeared just as arrogant and capricious as the members of S.H.I.E.L.D claimed, he could easily break an already damaged mortal if he could just get another opportunity. Easily acquirable with the monitoring that S.H.I.E.L.D so diligently kept on Tony's open excursions. Loki still needed a way into Stark's accommodations, where the secrets to his arc reactor must be hidden. A more intimate relation would have to be formed, longer than those petty affairs Stark regularly discontinues, long enough to observe the power the reactor possessed before concentrating on the Tesseract yet again. If the rumors that reached Loki's ears proved truthful, he would not have to change his shape to accomplish this goal. It would much more amusing later when the war begins.

He sent his consciousness through the shadows, lurking in the backs of the minds of the S.H.I.E.L.D agents that continuously monitored Stark's whereabouts. He smirked, after a week of no activity, Stark finally approved plans outside of his premises. Loki glanced at the location: Le Reve. Simple enough to enter, he would form an identity once he fully assessed the situation. The S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters faded as Loki let go of the magic tendrils he weaved through several of the agents, returning back to his body. He stood and exited the residence he set up for rest, he would need to arrive early to remove any expendable obstacles.

Any complaints that Tony had about business parties were tolerable compared to business dinners. At least he could change partners at a party. Stuck at a table with a group of uptight individuals, completely and utterly horrible. The Accura pulled up beside the restaurant, a crowd of bystanders looking up and whispering to themselves as Tony stepped out. He threw the keys to Happy; he caught them just as he left the passenger seat.

"Remember to come back in thirty minutes, I'm sure that is all it is going to take before I refuse to listen to them anymore."

"You could try for slightly longer for that."

"No chance in hell," Tony pushed open the doors to Le Reve, already feeling horribly suppressed. The typical business restaurant, sticking to greys and whites with large windows that allowed everyone outside to see how many important and respected patrons ate inside. A clean-shaven host ran up to Tony.

"Hello, Mr. Stark. Your business associates have already arrived, right this way sir," he gestured down an aisle. Tony strolled after the fast-paced and stiff host, moving further and further to the back of the restaurant. The tables were partially hidden by pillars, giving the illusion of privacy. The host stopped in front of a table, placing both his hands behind his back. When Tony reached the table the host quickly walked back to the front of the restaurant. Tony's eyes glanced over the table of two men. The one of the left looked ordinary, boring light grey suit with greying hair that began to thin along the hairline. The man on the right however, stood out more. Younger than his partner, his dark black hair that matched his suit was an unusual length, curling underneath his ears, quite unorthodox for the majority of men he met on business.

A flicker of recognition, a spark of a memory, but Tony couldn't summon enough to form any concrete information about the man. He didn't have time to try and summon any forgotten memories as the older man on his right stood up and reached across the table.

"Ah, Mr. Stark, welcome, thank you for coming, I am Mr. Boyd," he said with a large smile, grabbing Tony's hand and giving several shakes. Tony smiled then moved his head towards the oddly familiar man.

"Whose he?" Mr. Boyd looked over to his side.

"Well, this is-"

"We've met before, Mr. Stark," the man stood and held out his hand; Tony grasped it and gave a single firm shake. "You quite graciously rejected a drink offer." The random associations finally clicked in his head.

"Oh! You're the one with the weird name, what was it, Loki?"

"Yes, Mr. Stark. A honor to meet you once again," Loki sat back down. The older man shot a look at Loki before returning his attention to Tony once again.

"Good, good, I'm glad you two are already acquainted. Now, I know it is early in the evening but we do have important business to attend to," the other man whose name already escaped Tony's memory pulled out a folder, passing it over to Tony, however Loki placed his hand on the folder before it could make it across the table.

"Need we spoil a good dinner with business so soon, especially since Mr. Stark only just arrived." Loki glanced up at Tony with a ghost of a smile, dragging the folder towards him with the tips of his fingers. Mr. Boyd glared at Loki, trying to hide the fact that he was gritting his teeth.

"I think Mr. Stark would like to get business out of the way first," Mr. Boyd said with a faked smile.

"No, no, I like Loki's plan," Tony stretched back in his seat, looking over his shoulder and motioning at a waiter. "I'd rather have a few drinks first." The waiter walked over, but as he opened his mouth Tony interrupted him. "Three scotches," he held up three fingers. He might as well break his temperance now; no way he could possibly make any monumental mistakes during a business meeting.

Loki debated whether it would be beneficial to end Mr. Boyd's life at this moment, ultimately convincing himself that he needn't bloody his hands in view of his future subjects. No, his miserable life would end much more subtly; perhaps a nice poison would stop his flapping mouth from ever uttering another word. By Mr. Stark's expression, similar thoughts circulated through his mind as well. Mr. Boyd encompassed the worse of the mortals. Unbelievably dull and repetitive, he desperately tried to retain attention but failed to leave an impact in the dead air. At the rate he hopelessly tried to maintain conversation, Mr. Stark seemed bound to loss what little interest he had remaining and leave.

It became necessary to rid the table of this nuisance; Loki knew the perfect nonlethal solution. As Mr. Boyd struggled to entertain with a story about some drunkards in a bar, Loki concentrated on the intestines that twisted through the pits of the mortal. He twisted his wrist slightly, sending pressure through Mr. Boyd's abdomen. Mr. Boyd's sentence stopped short, his face contorted briefly in pain that he tried to mask with a smile.

"I apologize Mr. Stark, I need to take care of some… um… business," Mr. Boyd walked quickly past the other table. Mr. Stark leaned back and sighed, his hand moving through his hair.

"How can you deal with that man day after day," Mr. Stark pointed his thumb at the disappearing figure.

"Fortunately I do not have to."

"You know, you look rather young for an executive," Mr. Stark said, sipping on his scotch.

"I am no executive, I am merely a temporary replacement for one of the business lawyers." Loki's own scotch tasted bitter compared to the sweeter wines of his previous world. He would have to bear with inferior alcohol of his future kingdom. "The previous lawyer had decided to end his relations to the firm."

"Lucky break for you then."

"Fate smiled kindly on me, yes," Loki looked up from his drink, glancing at Mr. Stark's eyes rather quickly before preoccupying himself with invisible dust on his sleeve. "Especially since I finally get to share with a drink with the famous Mr. Stark."

"Yeah, though Pepper is bound to kill me for having this scotch later." Loki tilted his head slightly. "She's my assistant."

"She is not fond of drink?"

"It's more like she doesn't like what I do after drinking."

"I have seen the videos," Loki smiled before taking a miniscule sip. Tony laughed curtly.

"I'm sure most people have at this point."

"I have seen your heroics as well, quite impressive," Loki leaned forward, smirking.

"I appreciate the compliment," Tony sipped his scotch.

"Though I have to wonder how it competes with your more personal relations."

"My 'personal' relationships rarely last long enough to conflict with being Iron Man," Tony chuckled.

"That is unfortunate," Loki pulled closer, leaning over the table to close the distance between him and Mr. Stark. "It would take far too long to completely and utterly enjoy your company with a schedule that only allows such meager relations." Tony smiled, his eyes lingering on Loki's eyes then his lips before he looked away. "A few days would be needed at the very least."

"A weekend is perfect amount of time to get to know someone," Tony smirked, resting his elbows on the table

"I would have to agree, Mr. Stark," Loki breathed out his name as he refused break eye contact with Tony. The eye contact broke when a waiter came up, Tony snapping his head up. Loki lingered on him a bit before turning towards the servicer.

"Pardon the interruption, however your business accomplice left due to sudden health problems."

"I assume this is my cue to leave," Loki stood up, gathering the folder by his hands. He sauntered up to Tony, holding out his hand, which Tony clasped almost immediately. "I hope our next meeting will not be cut so short." Loki let his fingers linger on Tony's hand, dragging them softly across the skin before pulling away. As he turned and left, leaving Tony behind, he began calculating their next encounter. Based on the slight shiver Loki felt, everything progressed as smoothly as planned.


End file.
